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SXSW Interactive 2010 Mid-Conference Trends

Posted 03.15.2010 by Craig Saper

As many of you know, the annual South By Southwest Interactive Festival is a meet-up of the “who’s who” of tech visionaries. For those of you who couldn’t attend, here are a few trends I’ve seen so far at this year’s event:

Trends & Popular Subjects of SXSWi 2010

• Rampant debates over Foursquare vs. Gowalla
• QR Codes everywhere – bathrooms, sidewalks, on cars, on badges
• The masses rule — crowd-sourcing, viral media, and social sharing
• “Smackdown” in 1/3 of the session titles (“Tech Smackdown”, “Mobile Smackdown”, “Browser Smackdown”)
• iPhones + iPads
• Privacy on the web — especially within social media and mobile realms
• Panelists defending or discounting Augmented Reality

While market, technology, and consumer trends seem to define this annual event, I have yet to stumble on anything exceedingly revolutionary (although I do have two full days left). One thing I do know: 13,000 of us will head back to our respective offices next week full of ambitious ideas, and perhaps a few new contacts, that we’ll unquestionably put to good use.

What are your takeaways so far from SXSWi 2010?

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